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CE Stores Share 28% Of Sales With Their Websites

ARLINGTON, VA. — Twenty-eight percent of brick-and-mortar shoppers wind up making their CE purchases at the retailers’ websites, a new study shows.

The report, from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), also indicates that just less than half (45 percent) of brick-and-mortar customers use their mobile devices to help them shop while in stores, and 4 percent will use them to make a purchase.

Still, brick-and-mortar stores retain the bulk of visitors’ business with 69 percent of purchases. What’s more, 86 percent of CE storefront shoppers said they use physical showrooms for product examination and returns, and 84 percent said they make purchases there.

Among those using mobile devices while shopping in stores, 54 percent access them to search for product information; 46 percent compare in-store prices with e-tailers; 42 percent compare the retailer’s in-store and online prices; and 42 percent price shop other physical retailers.

All told, 38 percent of CE shoppers use a physical retailer’s online channels when looking to buy a tech device.

“It is imperative that physical CE retailers have a well-defined multichannel strategy,” said Rhonda Daniel, senior manager, market research, CEA. “Creating seamless and fluid relationships across channels will allow physical retailers to play an integral and uninterrupted role along the entire path to purchase.”